Having previously read Cornelius Ryan's other books The Longest Day and The Last Battle (as well as a lot of other World War II history), I didn't expect to find this one particularly interesting. I mean, how could some operation called Market Garden I'd never even heard of possibly compare to the D-Day invasion of Normandy or the fall of Berlin and final collapse of the Nazi regime?

I was pleasantly surprised.

As always, of course, Ryan is a brilliant storyteller, and this story turned out to be no less gripping than his others. The Market portion of the operation was the largest airborne invasion in history as tens of thousands of allied troops were dropped over Holland by parachute or glider. Their mission was to seize and hold several key bridges for advancing ground forces, the Garden portion of the operation, culminating in a bridge at Arnhem whose successful capture would allow the Allies to cross the Rhine and sweep into Germany, potentially ending the war in Europe in 1944.

Since that obviously didn't happen, you know from the start that the operation did not succeed. But the story of the airborne divisions' incredibly heroic efforts (particularly at Arnhem), whose mission to hold their bridges for two or at most four days got dragged out into nine as subsequent airdrops to reinforce and resupply them kept getting delayed and cancelled as weather did not permit their takeoff and ground forces failed to make the rapid progress they were supposed to, is inspiring despite the tragedy of their ultimately useless sacrifice. Ryan does a superb job of vividly capturing both the heroism and the tragedy. Now I want to see the movie!

This is one of the best history books I have ever read. It covers in extensive, interesting detail and precision Operation Market-Garden, the massive armor and paratroop attack in Holland in 1944. The operation was an ambitious attempt to bypass the German front lines and swing around the Siegfried Line in 2 days - which actually took 9 days. The book details the events before the attack, the plans for the attack, and the results. Over 400 people were interviewed for the book as well as extensive research. It is thorough, comprehensive and well written. As it was written in 1974, the author had the great advantage of being able to personally interview many of the principals who survived. It was interesting to read and did a great job of honoring the paratroopers who held on through the disaster that it eventually became. The Dutch civilians and resistance are included as well, which really makes it complete. ( )

This book details the attempted war-ending operation immediately following the landings at Normandy. The operation was known as Market (the airborne piece) Garden (the land and air-support piece) and was both larger and more costly than Normandy. The operation was to basically move north through Holland, cross the Rhine at Arnhem, and enter the highly productive Ruhr Valley in Germany thus crippling the Reich. The problem with crossing Holland was that many, many bridges which crosses various rivers and canals had to be taken in tact so that the ground troops could reinforce the paratroopers. The belief was that the German forces were weak throughout Holland and would offer little resistance. However, this was only one of many miscalculations made by Montgomery et al. In short, the operation failed to achieve it's ultimate goal of providing the Allies with a highway into Germany.

The author does a great job of telling the story, which invariably includes many names and places, in such a way that the book can be a real page turner. He tells a good story and paints a good picture. Not only does he recount the story of the operation but he brings the book to life by including many personal stories. An excellent read and and excellent addition to anyone's personal library. ( )

This book gives a detailed account of the allies invasion of Holland under the operation 'Market Garden'. Operation 'Market Garden', which was a major debacle on the allied side, costing thousands of soldiers their life and thousands were injured not counting the several thousands who were taken POW. Although casualties were on both sides it was the allied group who suffered a major dent in their morals.

It was very disheartening to learn the ordeal which the Dutch citizenry had endured amidst this invasion. The suffering of the soldiers and the sacrifices they made were even more horrendous than the war itself. Even through the suffering, the gallant effort put by the soldiers are very commendable even after this many years of battle.

Cornelius Ryan has done a commendable job in capturing the very essence of the whole operation. The author has done a very meticulous research and hasn't spared any detail in the description of the aftermath of the bloody war. ( )

THE CLASSIC ACCOUNT OF ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC BATTLES OF WORLD WAR II

A Bridge Too Far is Cornelius Ryan's masterly chronicle of the Battle of Arnhem, which marshalled the greatest armada of troop-carrying aircraft ever assembled and cost the Allies nearly twice as many casualties as D-Day.

In this compelling work of history, Ryan narrates the Allied effort to end the war in Europe in 1944 by dropping the combined airborne forces of the American and British armies behind German lines to capture the crucial bridge across the Rhine at Arnhem. Focusing on a vast cast of characters -- from Dutch civilians to British and American strategists to common soldiers and commanders -- Ryan brings to life one of the most daring and ill-fated operations of the war. A Bridge Too Far superbly recreates the terror and suspense, the heroism and tragedy of this epic operation, which ended in bitter defeat for the Allies.

Here is Cornelius Ryan's masterly chronicle of the greatest armada of troop-carrying aircraft ever assembled for a single battle -- culminating in the most grandiose and devastatingly tragic struggle of World War II. Now in a new edition for the 50th anniversary of VE Day, A Bridge Too Far tells the classic story of the battle of Arnhem, one of the most dramatic battles of World War II, which cost the Allies nearly twice as many casualties as D-Day. In this compelling work of history, Cornelius Ryan narrates the Allied effort to end the war in 1944 by dropping the combined airborne forces of the American and British armies behind German lines to capture the crucial bridge across the Rhine at Arnhem. Focusing on a vast cast of characters, from Dutch civilians to British and American strategists, to common soldiers and commanders, Ryan brings to life one of the most daring and ill-fated operations of the war. A Bridge Too Far superbly recreates the terror and suspense, the heroism and the tragedy of this epic operation, which marshalled some of the greatest resources of the war yet ended in bitter defeat.… (more)